President Donald Trump issued an ominous threat to the Taliban saying ‘bad things’ would happen if they did not return Bagram Air Base to the US.
The commander-in-chief made the statement on Saturday evening after spending the last few days talking of reclaiming the base in Afghanistan.
“If Afghanistan doesn’t return Bagram Airbase to the United States, which built it, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!! President DJT,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
The base was once a key hub for the 20-year-long war the US fought against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Bagram quickly fell into the hands of the Taliban after former President Joe Biden ordered US forces to withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The military left behind millions of items — including weapons, vehicles, and other military equipment — at Bagram and elsewhere in Afghanistan.
Currently, these resources are under Taliban control, who govern the nation after the US-supported administration disintegrated without American military presence.
Trump has also said he wants Bagram back because of its proximity to where China manufactures nuclear warheads.
“We’re attempting to reclaim it,” Trump shared with the Daily Mail on Thursday aboard Air Force One. “It’s just an hour away from where China develops its nuclear arsenal.”
President Donald Trump has warned the Taliban, which controls Afghanistan, that it needs to return Bagram Air Base to the US military
Bagram (pictured on September 11, 2011) was previously a key hub for the 20-year-long war the US fought against the Taliban and Al Qaeda
The exact site Trump mentions is uncertain, though the BBC noted in July that a nuclear testing site lies 1,243 miles from Bagram in northwestern China.
An ex-US official informed Reuters that retaking Bagram could effectively mean reinvading Afghanistan, as it would necessitate over 10,000 troops for proper control.
The official remarked that soldiers would have to undertake expensive base repairs, resupply efforts, and establish a large perimeter to deter rocket assaults. Moreover, no active strategies exist to reclaim Bagram.
‘I don’t see how this can realistically happen,’ the official said.
Trump has suggested that the US could assume control of the base if the Taliban consented, but its unclear how or if this will materialize.
Experts told Reuters that even if the Taliban consented to a US reoccupation of Bagram, it would need to be defended from various terrorist groups hiding in Afghanistan, including ISIS and al-Qaeda.
The base would also be vulnerable to missile strikes from Iran, who struck a U.S. air base in Qatar last June following attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
‘I don’t think there’s a particular military advantage to being up there,’ a former senior US defense official said. ‘The risks sort of outweigh the advantages.’
Pictured: The gate of Bagram is seen on June 25, 2021, months before the US military fully withdrew from Afghanistan
Pictured: Hundreds of civilians run alongside a US Air Force plane as it moves down the runway of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The airport was later attacked by an ISIS-K suicide bomber, killing 13 US service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians
Trump has long criticized Biden over the tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan, often focusing on the terror attack that killed 13 US service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians.
The attack took place on August 26, 2021, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
A suicide bomber affiliated with ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, detonated an explosive belt near Abbey Gate, a civilian entrance to the airport.
This area was the main evacuation point for Afghan and other foreign civilians trying to flee the country.
Trump called the withdrawal a ‘total disaster’ on Thursday during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
During his first term, Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, that stipulated US troops would fully withdraw by May 1, 2021.
Biden committed to this agreement after defeating Trump in the next election, but moved the deadline up to August 31, which was when troops officially left.
